Thursday, 3 May 2018

Zanu-PF members in the Norton constituency have appealed to
the party’s national commissariat seeking a re-run of primary elections held on
Sunday citing gross irregularities and interference by members of the police.

The call for the re-run comes in the wake of reports that
former first lady Mrs Grace Mugabe was funding the G40 machinery in Norton to
influence the outcome allegedly through the Shamu family.

Chief among the irregularities cited by Central Committee
members and provincial members from Mashonaland West was the use of unverified
cell registers, vote buying and police interference.

It is alleged some of the people who voted were not Zanu-PF
members as the police allowed them to vote using bio metric voter registration
slips.

After the voting process, Zanu-PF members alleged that the
police refused to count and post the results at polling stations but took them
to other centres without election agents of the contesting candidates.

Mrs Constance Shamu, who lost the ticket to represent
Zanu-PF in the women’s quota, was also fingered in the shambolic polls.

It is alleged that Mrs Shamu tampered with the party’s
commissariat stamp and created a parallel register that omitted names of
several party members.

In an interview yesterday, Zanu-PF Central Committee member
Cde Bybit Tsomondo said: “We are appealing for a re-run of the Norton primary
elections.

I am concerned with what transpired on the voting days and
how Cde Mutsvangwa was treated in this election. The first issue that I want to
raise is the police interference in our internal polls. The role of the police
when there is a gathering is to maintain peace and order but what we saw in
Norton was active participation of the police force in our elections.

“They (police) were active participants in the whole
process and they were not listening to all the concerns that we raised. I can
say with no doubt that money exchanged hands to influence the voting process. I
also want to question the role that Mrs Shamu played in the Norton elections.”

Cde Tsomondo said Mrs Shamu caused a lot of confusion in
Norton that impacted on the credibility of the polls.

Zanu-PF Mashonaland West secretary for Science and
Technology Cde Nyasha Sibiya also called for the re-run of primary elections.

He said the polls failed to pass the credibility test as
set out in the party’s rules and regulations.

“To us this election was not credible,” he said.

“Presiding officers were siding with other candidates by
allowing them to roam around in the polling stations while others were being
denied that opportunity. The cell registers were tampered with and several
names of party members were missing in the registers that were used on the
voting day. We are appealing for a re-run and before the polls are conducted,
we want our structures to be re-organised to reflect the real and genuine party
membership in Norton.

“We also wondered how certain candidates who failed to meet
the party’s criteria were allowed to contest. For instance Cde Mutendereki has
only two years in the party yet the circular from commissariat was clear that
all candidates for House of Assembly should have served the party for five
years and above.”

He said the Norton MP Mr Temba Mliswa’s was working in
cahoots with the G40 to frustrate genuine Zanu-PF members.

Cde Sibiya said Mr Mliswa wanted to face a weak opponent in
the general elections and that justified his involvement in the scam.

“Mrs Shamu bought cellphones for cell chairpersons and paid
them $200 each. She is from Chambara in Chegutu but she was patrolling at
polling stations in Norton and the police allowed her access to polling
stations as and when she wished. We find that to be irregular. She started to
campaign in this constituency eight months ago against party regulations. We
are appealing to the President to be wary of some of these characters who are
infiltrating our party,” said Cde Sibiya

Cde Harry Macherure, who was also contesting as a
councillor said: “We are de-campaigning the President if we fail to address
these irregularities. I have evidence that some people voted using fake
addresses. The G40 cabal’s hand was very visible in this election and the party
leadership needs to look at that. Thousands of party members were turned away
and the only remedy to save the party is to call for a re-run of the election.”

Cde Tsitsi Kahari, who lost the election to represent the
party in local government election said: “The mischief occurring here is being
caused by former first lady Grace Mugabe who is funding Cde Shamu and his wife
to ensure the down fall of Cde Mutsvangwa and President Mnangagwa. There are
serious underhand dealings in this constituency.“Cde Shamu (Constance) has strong political
hold over all the chairpersons in this constituency who are being used to
mobilise people against candidates supportive of the new dispensation.”

Cde Kahari implored the commissariat to set up a neutral
team to re-organise party structures in Norton.

Meanwhile, Zanu-PF has begun processing complaints from aggrieved
party members who feel they were unfairly treated in the just-ended internal
party polls.

It is believed that members of the elections commission
that were deployed in various provinces are seized with some of the queries,
while other cases are being transmitted to the National Elections Directorate
(NEC).

On Monday, the party’s national elections commission (NEC)
chairperson, Lieutenant-General Engelbert Rugeje (Retired), said the party
would consider all appeals.

“We will first receive the results and make a review
looking at those with appeals. We are winding up business today (Monday) and
there has been remarkable progress in the provinces,” he said.

Already, the NED has given the Midlands province the green
light to re-run elections in three wards in Chirumanzu-Zibagwe constituency
today after voting failed to take place on Sunday and Monday due to logistical
hiccups.

“Generally, we had a good primary election in the province,
serve for a few hiccups here and there mainly to do with time and logistics.
After some complaints from Chirumanzu-Zibagwe constituency, where some people
in some wards failed to vote following a mix-up in cell registers and ballot
papers, we have been given a green light by the National Elections Directorate
to have a re-run,” he said.

In Mberengwa, Cde Tsitsi Zhou, who was vying for a slot in
the women’s quota, has also lodged a complaint with the party’s elections
commission after her name was erroneously omitted.

It is believed that her name was handwritten on the ballot
paper at midday when voting had already started at 7am.

Provincial spokesperson Cde Cornelius Mpereri confirmed
that the party had received complaints and grievances from some of the
candidates, some of which were handled by the elections commission.

Mashonaland Central provincial elections officer Cde
Etherton Shunga said although there were a few challenges, the elections went
on well.

Minister of State for Mashonaland Central Provincial
Affairs Advocate Martin Dinha, who was contesting for a House of Assembly seat
in Mazowe North, yesterday lodged a complaint at the provincial command centre,
saying the supposed winner, Cde Campion Mugweni, had manipulated the results.

In Masvingo province, the party’s elections commissioner,
Dr Charity Manyeruke, recommended a re-run of elections in Zaka East, including
some wards in Masvingo and Chiredzi where voters failed to vote for various reasons.

It is believed that in Zaka East, voting failed to take
place in four wards after names of some candidates were omitted from the ballot
paper.